Have you ever wondered how stress affects you and why stress affects everyone differently?
It is well documented that high levels of stress can contribute to heart disease, cancer, headaches, ulcers, backaches, and nearly every condition known to mankind. How can stress cause so many unique problems in different people, especially since the stress reaction is the same for everyone?
Stress is a nerve system reaction that causes your heart to beat faster, your muscles to be tense, your stomach to tighten, and your hair follicles to stand up as a way to prepare your body for an emergency. When you interpret a situation as stressful, whether it truly is or not, your brain triggers this reaction by sending a signal through your spinal cord and nerve system to every cell of your body. In prehistoric times, this would have been the perfect reaction to escape from a hungry dinosaur, but in today’s stress-filled world and no Tyrannosaurus Rex, a chronic reaction like this can cause pain, sickness, and disease.
Where your body breaks down from stress may depend on whether or not you have a condition in your spine known as vertebral subluxation. A vertebral subluxation is a spinal injury that interferes with the normal function of your nerve system which can affect your health on every level. If you have this condition in your spine, your body is already pre-stressed.
how stress affects you
by Dr. Eric Plasker, DC